When Impressions Fail
by Karmitara
Summary: A secret revealed, An enhanced teen sneaking out, A mistake that would cost not only him, but the team. Now a face from the long forgotten past resurfaces... The team must save Peter before it's too late and their boy is lost for good. /BOOK 2/
1. PREVIEW

**A secret revealed…**

"Someone out there knows who I am." Peter's eyes were wide with panic as he looked at the adults. "Someone knows _me_."

"Could it be Mr. Toomes?"

"Peter, did you really show yourself to the enemy?" Nat asked with a frown.

"No…!"

 **An enhanced teenager sneaking out…**

"Hey, Friday?" He quietly started, staring up at the ceiling.

"Yes, Peter?"

"You're under orders to tell Mr. Stark everything that I do while I'm here, right?"

"That's correct."

"Could you delay a piece of information to him for... an hour?"

It was silent for a while, Peter almost afraid that the AI was ratting him out before she spoke again. "Yes, but I will tell him if he asks."

Peter grinned as he shot out of bed, quickly putting his suit on. "Thanks, Friday!"

 **A mistake that would cost not only him, but the team.**

It happened so fast, Peter didn't even have time to react.

The brightest spotlight ever was suddenly shining in Peter's eyes, a high pitch squealing sound assaulting his ears. He let go of the web he was holding and curled himself into a ball in midair, his body soon hitting the ground with a loud thump. He couldn't do anything but cry out in pain as his heart hammered in his chest, hands grabbing him and dragging him somewhere.

Maybe he should have listened to the adults a bit more...

"Damn it, Peter!" Tony stood up, calling his suit to him. "Alert the others! Get everyone suited up and in that town as soon as possible!"

Each member of the team blamed themselves for one thing or another, whether not noticing Peter's growing need for the outside world or not teaching him enough about self-defense. Each one believed that if they had done one little thing differently, Peter would still be there.

 **Now a face from the long forgotten past resurfaces…**

"Wait…" Clint stepped closer, his eyes narrowing at the screen. "That's the boss."

"How do you know?" Scott asked, staring at the fuzzy image.

"Because I know him."

"I said stop!" Peter's fist slammed against the glass, a spider web of cracks forming. The man only smirked more.

"You have your mother's temper. God, she was a woman that could strike fear into anyone. You've got your eyes from her as well, but your looks are all from your dad. You look so much like Richard, it makes me sick..."

 **The team must save Peter before it's too late…**

As Peter gave in to his tired body, he faintly heard a voice whispering to him. He wanted to wake up and listen closer, but his body wouldn't obey him.

 _"You're mine now, Peter."_

"Geez, this isn't creepy at all..." Scott muttered.

"Peter...?" Tony moved to the front of the group, Steve nodding.

"It seems so."

 **And their boy is gone for good.**

"Peter!" Sam grunted as his head hit the wall, "Snap out of it already! What is wrong with you?"

His only response was to lift the large tank and throw it at Sam, the man groaning as his body slackened for a second in aggravation before bracing for impact.

 **When Impressions Fail  
by Karmitara**

.

.

.

"This is just like Algeria!" Clint said with a laugh, sending an arrow flying out into the sea of bad guys around them.

Nat paused, looking back at him before shooting another person, "You and I remember Algeria very differently."


	2. Chapter 1

"Where is my nephew?"

Tony sighed, rubbing his forehead as he listened to May screech over the phone. He regretted accepting her call so early in the morning, but he probably deserved this...

"May, please..."

"Don't you 'May, please' me! You lost my nephew! I sent him over to you for the specific purpose of keeping him safe with some psycho after him, but you let him waltz right out into the psycho's hands!"

The man just sat there, letting her vent her fears and frustrations to him. He glanced at his desk calendar, sighing again.

A week had passed and still no sign of Peter. Everyone was on edge; snapping at or avoiding each other altogether. It was like the boy was the glue in their crazy family and without him everything was falling apart.

They all worked tirelessly to find Peter, no one resting until they found him. But who knew how long that would take... Days had already passed, including the boy's birthday... Tony had sat in his workshop that day, staring at one of his projects that he had made for the boy.

What had happened to him? Was he still alive? Was he being tortured? Would he hate them for not rescuing him immediately? There were so many worries that circled in Tony's head, all of them haunting his mind every night when he tried to concentrate or sleep.

"I may have found something, boss," Friday announced, quickly gaining the attention of the genius and stopping his destructive thought path.

"May, I'll call you back."

"Tony, don't you dare-"

The line clicked off, May's voice cutting out.

"Is it something on Peter?" Tony sat up straight in his chair, spinning to see a large screen in the middle of the room.

"I found a security camera that showed a strange flashing in it, but I thought it was nothing at first. I decided to get a military satellite feed for it anyway, and I found what happened."

"Call the others here now!"

"Already here," Steve said as he walked in with the team. Tony nodded before turning back to the screen, watching intently as they saw Peter swinging around town, flipping and having fun. It made the guilt they all felt worse. Everything seemed normal until he started to go back towards the base...

The satellite imagery blurred for a second as bright lights filled the screen. Peter fell to the ground, his body curled in on itself as he held his ears.

"They've got speakers too..." Bruce murmured, his tired eyes glued to the scene, his fists clenched tightly.

"Sensory overload," Nat said, her arms crossed. "They knew they wouldn't be able to handle him at full strength. It takes a while for him to recover and just enough time for them to work with."

They watched as a group of large men grabbed Peter, ripping him out of his suit. None of them looked shocked at the young boy as an unmarked van appeared, tossing him inside. These men already knew who Peter was...

"Do we have anything on these men? Anything we can use to trace them, figure out where they came from?"

"I'm searching now, boss."

"Wait..." Clint stepped closer, his eyes narrowing. "Friday, zoom in on this ally."

The AI did as she was told, zooming in to show the faint outline hiding in the shadows. "That's the boss..."

"How do you know?" Scott asked, staring at the fuzzy image.

"Because I know him." Clint looked at Natasha, "Remember that time in Algeria? That old dude that loved his cane?"

"The Finisher." Nat glared at the screen, hatred burning in her eyes. "What does he want with Peter?"

"Wait, who the hell is the Finisher?" Sam asked, looking between the two former agents.

"He's the cleanup-slash-hitman for the Red Skull."

Steve's eyes widened, "What? No, that can't be right..."

Everyone looked from Steve back to Nat and Clint, the two staring worriedly at the screen.

"There's more than one Red Skull; there's the one you know, the original, and then the impostor, Albert Malik." Clint sighed as he rubbed his eyes, memories coming back from a previous mission years ago. "Malik is a former Soviet agent that appeared sometime after the original's death. He's not as bad as Johann Shmidt, but still not fun to deal with."

"That man," Nat pointed at the figure on the satellite screen, "Is Karl Fiers, Malik's hitman. He's in the business for the joy it brings him, rather than the money. Clint and I ran into him once while on an opp in Algeria, he's a sadistic genius that loves to mess with his targets."

"And he's got Peter." All eyes were on Tony as he called his suit to him, a fire in his bones that hadn't been seen in a long time. "We need to get him back."

It was quiet for a while before Cap smirked, "Alright. Suit up, everyone. We're going save Peter."

Everyone rushed out of the room to get their suits, Tony going out ahead to see if he could pick anything up on Karl Fiers. Now that he had a name, it wouldn't be too hard to get information on him and facial recognition.

And what do you know, it worked; shortly before everyone went out of the Compound, Friday found a camera that caught Fiers frequently visiting a large building in the middle of Vermont. Tony informed the team as he rocketed through the sky and promised he wouldn't do anything stupid until they arrived.

No one really believed him.

 **A/N: I would like to make it known that I have no idea about the False Red Skull or the Real Red Skull... The Avengers Wiki wasn't very helpful in identifying the two... So if there was any mistakes, I'm sorry. It's hard trying to use a comic book backstory in a movie setting.**

 **Alright... So my dad had what seemed to be a heart attack last week. He's doing better now, but he's on medical leave and we're going all over for doctor appointments. I've been sitting on three completed chapters for a while now and didn't want to leave you all hanging on that horrible cliffhanger for forever, so I'm going to try and get back into writing again now that things are slowly calming down.**

 **I've also hit a major writing block in the middle of chapter four, so that's going to be fun to get around... It's mainly because this story is so different from the first one and none of the chapters are centered around one thing (i.e. age, mind, flex, etc.). I'm not very good at chapter stories like this, so wish me luck with it and thank you all so much for the continued support!**


	3. Chapter 2

Peter was completely miserable.

That was an understatement. He couldn't really describe what he felt, because he didn't feel anything. His body was numb and heavy, unable to do much but lay there. If he could see, that would make this experience slightly better, but it was pitch black in his cell. Darkness was much better than the blaring lights and noise from earlier, but it was causing his body to shut down. Plus, he had no way to know where he was... Was he on the ceiling, the wall? He couldn't tell!

All he knew was that this room didn't have a door... He searched every part of this place, and there was nothing. He couldn't even tell where the lights came from when they were turned on.

The lights were probably the worst. They were the brightest lights Peter had ever come in contact with, barely letting him open his eyes from the sharp stabbing it would cause to his skull. Thankfully the noises stopped after they brought him here -whoever 'they' were. Ever since Peter awoke in this weird room, it's been deathly quiet.

Were the bad guys planning on keeping him in here until he starved? That was a very real possibility now... His stomach was cramping so badly and his throat felt like sandpaper. He was in desperate need of food and water, every fiber of his body screaming for it. He didn't know how much longer he could go...

Like an answer to his thoughts, light filled the room. Peter flinched as he quickly covered his eyes and suppressed a groan. He did not need this!

"I thought you might want this," A voice said, filling up the quiet that Peter had grown used to.

The boy lifted his head, no longer seeing the tiled cell he was in. Now it was a glass box with an opening for food, a tray of the most mouth watering meal he could imagine on it. He looked up, seeing an older man standing there with a cane and smirk. The man gestured to the food, his smirk unnerving Peter but not enough to stop him from eating the food.

Peter smelled it first, hoping that his spidey senses would have alerted him if the food was poisoned. He didn't feel a buzz behind his neck and prayed that it would be okay. His eyes never left the old man's as he took a bite of the food, the man chuckling as he stepped closer.

"You don't trust me."

"I think the reason is fairly obvious..."

The man chuckled again as he sat in a chair next to the glass wall. "And yet you eat the food I give you."

Peter looked down at his meal, narrowing his eyes at it, "It's not poisoned. You could have killed me at any time before, why would you kill me now with food? Especially after just showing yourself. You have something bigger planned for me."

It was quiet for a second before the man started clapping. "I was right, you are smart. I am Karl Fiers, also known as the Finisher. It's nice to finally meet you, Peter Benjamin Parker."

"How do you know me?" Peter was almost desperate as he asked, "Did Mr. Toomes tell you?"

"No, no," Karl stood up, turning away from the boy, "I've been watching you for quite some time now, Peter... I have to say, I am very impressed with how you've turned out. You've had such a hard life, and yet when you're given an opportunity to take revenge on everyone who has wronged you in life... You end up saving people instead." Karl chuckled as he poured himself a drink. "Truly remarkable. I've been very entertained for the last 12 years."

"Why?" Peter frowned, his eyebrows scrunched together, "Why are you watching me? Why me?"

Peter felt a chill run down his spine, his back stiffening as Karl slowly started to smirk. It's wasn't a cocky smirk that Mr. Stark gave when challenging someone, or the amused smirk that Mr. Rogers gave when someone did something he liked, or the kind of smirk Miss Nat always had when she teased all the boys on the team... This smirk was dark, sinister... It was evil.

"Everyone told me that I should leave you alone, Peter. They all told me that you were just a child, you wouldn't be a threat to me or my boss. But look at you now, single-handedly lowering the crime rates in New York City...!" He chuckled as he stood right in front of Peter, taking a sip of his drink. "But I knew it was a good idea to keep an eye on you... You're Mary and Richard's kid, of course."

"How do you know my parents?" Peter slowly chewed his food, his appetite fading away.

"They used to work with me. Of course, that was all a ruse and I had to kill them. Quite sad, they were nice people."

Peter choked, his eyes bulging as he coughed. He dropped the tray and stood up, his legs shaking as he stared at the old man.

"You...what?"

"I killed your parents, Peter. I snuck onto their private jet and I rigged everything just right for it to crash in the middle of nowhere. Then I framed them for treason to America, they died as criminals."

Tears swelled Peter's eyes, but he fought them back. He's never been bothered by his parents' death before, he could barely even remember them. There was no reason he should be bothered by it now. "M-My parents were sales people, they weren't criminals."

"Maybe that's what they tell you." Karl snickered, "They were top agents in the CIA, recruited by none other than Nick Furry himself."

"That's not true..."

"They were undercover, working for my previous boss just to find the truth about the Soviet Red Skull. My brother discovered their secrets and my boss had me kill them."

"Stop it."

"I went to the crash site the next day, you want to know what I found? Both of them were alive after the crash! Unfortunately... there was also a fire on the plane and they were burned alive."

"I said stop!" Peter's fist slammed against the glass, a spiderweb of cracks forming. Karl only smirked more.

"You have your mother's temper. God, she was a woman that could strike fear into anyone. You've got your eyes from her as well, but your looks are all from your dad. You look so much like Richard it makes me sick..."

Peter's breath was ragged as he stepped away from the glass, running his hands through his hair. His parents had died in a plane crash while coming home from a three-month work trip. Not a lot of people showed up for their funeral either...

"It's all true, Peter."

The boy swiftly turned around, marching back to the man. "Why now? I've had these powers since I was fourteen! Why wait until now?"

Karl shrugged again, "I've grown tired of waiting, I guess."

Peter felt like he was going to throw up, his body was cold but his head felt hot. His parents - the people that would disappear for months at a time - were CIA agents? Was it even legal for CIA agents to date each other, much less marry and have kids?

He sat down, bringing his knees up as he held his head in his hands.

His parents were always gone, sometimes coming home with marks on their bodies; they would never give him a direct answer about their job when he asked; he was always left at May and Ben's when they went away, who also wouldn't give him a straight answer... It did fit.

"So you're going to kill me now?" Peter lifted his head, glaring at the man.

"Oh no," Karl shook his head, laughing as if the idea was ridiculous. "No, like you said before, Peter... I have bigger plans for you."

After Karl Fiers left, the tile walls Peter was so used to before lifted out of the ground and surrounded him again, locking him in a box of pure darkness - physically and metaphorically.

Peter's mind was in chaos, trying desperately to figure something -anything- out. His parents worked for the CIA, the man that killed them now kidnapped him, the man that kidnapped him had something big that didn't involve killing Peter. Yet. It was just too much to process now...

The dark was a welcomed comfort though. He was able to rest for a short time, let his head cool down. For once, he enjoyed the deafening silence as it was filled by his thoughts. Something that kept popping up in his mind, distracting him from the new insanity that was his life... how much trouble was he going to be in when the Avengers finally found him.

Mr. Stark was going to kill him... He was definitely going to be in so much trouble. He hoped that he didn't get Friday in trouble as well (but he knew that he probably did. Oops). He should have listened to them... He wasn't going to live that admission down. Ever. Just great.

The image of May ran through his mind, sitting all alone in the apartment and just waiting for him. He felt so bad for letting this happen and leaving her alone. After everything she's been through... How could he have done this to her now?

Peter our his hands over his eyes, laying down on the floor. What was he going to do? There were so many things he needed to figure out, but he couldn't help his mind from slipping into sleep.

As he gave in to his tired body, he faintly heard a voice whispering to him. He wanted to wake up and listen closer, but his body wouldn't obey him.

"You're mine now, Peter."

 **A/N: I'm kinda laughing at some people that are still "waiting for this story to be published". I guess they didn't read the A/N in the last book about the preview being the sign that the new story is posted. So I keep getting PMs asking when the new story is going to be posted and how excited they are for it... I really hope that When Impressions Fail will live up to your standards!**


	4. Chapter 3

"So that's the place?" Tony asked, scanning the area for signs of Peter.

"Yes, boss. This is it," Friday seemed to be anxious as she ran tests to make sure it was safe. "There are multiple life forms inside, though I can't determine if any of them are Peter."

"Oh well, we'll just storm the castle and find out ourselves."

"I thought you said you'd wait for us before doing anything," A voice stopped Tony in mid-descent. He turned around and saw the Quin jet hovering behind him with War Machine beside it.

Tony held a finger up and shook his head, "No, I promised not to do anything stupid. I'm just going to bust the door open."

"Tony..."

"Fine! God, you're always so team-y!"

The group chuckled as the jet landed, Tony following them down. They regrouped in the woods, Steve trying to set up a strategy but giving up when Tony kept wandering further and further back from the team. They were all eager to save Peter; Steve couldn't blame them though, he wanted to get Peter back soon too. Even with so many adults at the compound, it was lonely without Peter's constant chatter.

Tony, as soon as they were close enough, blasted the doors off its hinges and stormed inside. Steve almost cursed him for such a flashy entrance but stopped as he noticed something.

It was surprisingly empty inside. There were no guards or security cameras or anything that would suggest this was an evil lair; it looked very normal...

"My scanners say there's a lot of people here..." Rhodey said as he stepped inside, powering up his gauntlets while looking around for threats.

"Mine too." Tony started walking forward, "Let's go ask them a few questions."

"Now might be a good time for you to get tiny, Bug Man," Sam said, looking to Scott. "Be a nice surprise for the bad guys when we meet 'em."

Scott sighed as he hit his shrink button, "It's Ant-Man!"

"Whatever, Tic-Tac."

"Guys," Steve turned a small glare at them, holding a finger to his mouth and pointing ahead. Sam and the tiny Scott both looked, seeing Natasha sneaking down the hall to a room that was being guarded. Neither men stood a chance as Nat easily took them both down in one of her crazy ninja moves.

She took the key card off of the taller one and opened the door, everyone quickly following her inside after securing the guards.

"Oh my God..."

There were eight TV screens against the back wall with three swivel chairs, all turned off. Covering the walls of the room were thousands of pictures, all of the same person.

"Peter...?" Tony moved to the front of the group, going up to a wall to stare at the images. "This is Peter's ninth birthday. And this is... him in middle school? All of these are Peter through the years?"

"It seems so."

"He was actually pretty cute," Scott chuckled, standing on top of a frame. "Whoa, is this his aunt? She's hot!"

Tony chuckled slightly as he scanned through all the pictures, not paying much attention to the others until he heard Bruce gasp.

Everyone turned around to see what sparked concern in the scientist, their eyes soon widening as well.

"What is that?" Steve asked, leaning against the back of the chair Nat was in. On the screens were night vision videos of Peter laying in a dark room, a foggy silhouette sitting next to the boy's body and brushing a transparent hand through his hair.

"Is it a ghost? It looks like there's a ghost sitting next to Peter." Sam glanced around at the others, "Please tell me that y'all see that too."

"It's another enhanced..." Bruce squinted, watching the second person gently stroking their boy's head. "This man obviously employs enhanced teens, could that be why he took Peter? He wants another?"

"Wait..." Tony held up a hand, "You mean that this man has been stalking Peter throughout his whole life and just now kidnapped him because he wants a new pet to add to his collection? Peter's had these powers since he was fourteen, what's stopped him all this time?"

"Timing, resources, man-power, it could be any number of things." Rhodey cursed silently as he crossed his arms, "He could have started collecting enhanced kids just to get Peter."

Everyone looked at Rhodey, their faces varying in reactions to the new info as Steve looked back at the screen. "Is there any way to tell where this is?"

"These cameras don't show locations, there's no way to tell," Nat nearly growled out, her hand clenching into a fist as she watched the TVs. "They could be directly under us now and we wouldn't know."

Clint, along with the others, sighed as they left Nat in charge of the technologies. He started to search through the desk, finding old gun and knife magazines. When he came across a drawer that was locked, Clint raised an eyebrow and called Scott over.

"Geez, this isn't creepy at all..." Scott muttered as he crawled into the keyhole, the lock clicking open. "This guy has a daily planner filled with everything Peter's apart of in school."

The drawer slid open, Clint lifting the small black notebook and scanning through it. "I think this man knows more about Peter's day-to-day life than you do, Tony. He has everything written down for every thirty minutes." Clint laughed a bit, "Wow, Peter takes an hour in the shower every day. Even Nat doesn't take that long."

"But that still doesn't explain how he was able to kidnap Peter." It was Sam's turn in the spotlight now. "This man, Fiers, was tracking Peter, he was looking for a routine that had the perfect time to strike. Peter snuck out of the Compound after two weeks of being there, there was no way to know that. How did he know that Peter would be alone that night, how'd he know Peter would go to that city, what factor changed that made him need to take Peter now?"

It was silent for a long time, the team taking in this new piece to the puzzle. Sam definitely had a point... There was no way for Karl Fiers to know any of this.

"Ugh, why can't any of these bad guys be easy...!" Scott kicked the side of the desk, groaning in frustration. A small mechanical buzzing soon caught his attention as the screens showing Peter lit up.

"What's happening?" Tony asked, watching as Peter, on camera, jumped up when the lights turned on, the enhanced figure disappearing. The boy stuck to the wall, climbing up it until he reached the ceiling and running across that. Each time he would leave a frame on camera, a new screen would light up with a different angle, showing the boy's increased panic.

"I think Scott turned the lights on in Peter's cell and freaked him out." Nat knelt next to the desk, inspecting the area that Scott kicked. "If the light controls are in here, then there may be a speaker."

"We can talk to him?"

"I'm trying to find out now," Natasha snapped lightly, pressing her hands against the desk just as heavy feet were heard marching their way.

"Yeah," Tony brought his faceplate down as he turned to the door, "well try finding it faster. We're about to get company."

The group looked to the door just as a small army appeared, guns aimed and loaded.

This would be fun.


	5. Chapter 4

Alarms blared through the compound, the sounds of shouted orders, running feet, and shifting gear adding to the oncoming headache of any person there. Not to mention the flashing lights or sounds of bones crunching for any poor soul that got too close to any one of the Avengers.

Everyone knew that the Avengers would find them eventually, but they had hoped to have more than a week to prepare. But even with the sudden arrival, the people in the Fiers compound were the size of an army and able to hold their own - for a minute or less.

Karl Fiers growled to himself as he marched into his holding room, his cane almost useless in his fast pace. He tripped as he stepped onto the platform that Peter's cell was on, but a small hand held him up.

"Please don't push yourself," The young girl whispered, her black hair hiding half her face, "The guards will take care of the Avengers, I'm sure. Peter will be ours."

Karl yanked his arm away from her, "This is too important of a chance to risk on 'I'm sures'! I need Peter now!"

She flinched as she stepped back from him, her dark eyes watching as he typed a password into a panel next to the large cylinder cell that Peter was in. The outer layer slid down into the ground, showing the glass layer and Peter crouched on the ceiling.

"Peter, come down for a second." Karl smiled, his face looking twisted and wrong with the expression. "I have someone I want you to meet."

Peter didn't know why, he was sure that he would never have followed his orders for however long he may live here, but he found himself letting go and dropping to the floor. He didn't go any closer to the glass, when beckoned to, but Karl still smiled at him.

"This is Charumathi, another enhanced teenager."

The boy glanced at the small girl that seemed to be hiding behind Karl; she wore a very dull Indian sari of purple and gold, something Peter wasn't used to seeing. Those dresses were normally so elaborate, but this was just... not. Like the little girl had sewn the dress herself with spare fabrics in Walmart.

Peter took his eyes off her clothes and moved to her face. She didn't seem to be hurt, and as far as he could tell, she was staying there of her own free will. But under her eyes were dark bags, hardly noticeable against her tanned skin and behind her hair.

"Now, Peter," Karl started, placing a hand on Charumathi's shoulder and pulling her in front of him, "I'm going to open your cell and let you out, but you are going to stay near Charu and I. If you try to kill me, Charu will die; if you try to escape, Charu will die; if you do anything that I don't like, Charu will die. Am I understood?"

Peter's eyes narrowed, his fists clenching as he stood up straight. He searched Charumathi's face again, noticing how uncomfortable she was, before nodding once. "Alright, just leave her alone."

The twisted smile of Karl Fiers was back as he moved the girl away from him, typing another password into the security panel and waiting as the thick glass went down.

It was silent for a minute as the two enhanced teens tensed, the barrier between them gone and shredding what seemed like personal space. Peter had never been so close to another enhanced before that wasn't trying to kill him, he wasn't aware of how to act now without something in between them.

"It's alright, Peter, she won't hurt you. You are safe here."

"Hah, somehow I doubt that." The boy's eyes were dark as he sent a glare to Karl.

"Still bitter over what I've done to your parents? Come now, that's all in the past."

Before Peter could reply, Karl turned away and nearly shoved Charumathi forward, "Where are your manners, child? Stop hiding and go greet the young boy."

Charu stumbled, her foot catching on the bottom of her skirt and starting to fall forward. Peter's eyes widened as he reached out and caught her, his hand softly gripping her forearms as she held onto the front of his shirt.

His hands were instantly cold when he touched her, and he felt like he was frozen in place. Charu stood up straight, but Peter was still stuck in the same position; watching helplessly as her hands slowly went to his face.

"I'm very sorry..." She whispered just as her hands glided across his cheek and forehead, his world soon going dark.

 **A/N: such a short chapter! I'm so sorry! This is as far as my mind could go without giving too much away... I really hope the next one will be longer!**

 **Quick question: is anyone dressing up for halloween? If so, who will you be? I'm going to be Black Widow(words cannot describe how happy I am)! I'm not going out for candy, but there is a party I'm going to.**


	6. Chapter 5

"You know," Clint started with a laugh, sending an arrow flying out into the sea of bad guys around them, "This is just like Algeria!"

Nat paused, looking back at him before shooting another person, "You and I remember Algeria very differently."

The archer smirked as he looked around their battlefield. It was definitely like that time in Algeria.

A blur of red and gold zoomed past them, plowing through at least six men and taking out a lot of targets for the ground fighters. While everyone was glad to have Tony there at the moment, they could all safely say they did not want to get in his way.

The man was strangely quiet through the fight, not responding to any quips that the team made, and it scared them. Silent Tony meant nothing good - whether it was a bad guy or not. When he shot a blast at an enemy at point blank, even Nat flinched at the resulting wound. But no one dared to say so to Tony, even though they all knew he wouldn't really shoot at them (probably (hopefully)).

"This would be so much easier if they weren't so damn resilient!" Sam grunted as he floored three of the enemies only for two of them to rise again. "Son of a -"

The roar of fire cut him off, everyone's attention drawing to a wall of fire that was moving down the hall. What's worse, all the other bad guys started running away - as if they knew something the Avengers didn't.

"Well, well, well... We meet again, Avengers."

Tony landed, his face plate lifting to show his hard glare. "Chad, aren't you supposed to be in prison?"

"Nothing can stop me, nothing can hold me." The boy chuckled as he stepped out of the fire, "Like a fire... if it isn't dead, it always comes back at full force."

"Yeah, yeah, whatever," Tony rolled his eyes and batted a hand dismissively. "Where's Peter?"

"Peter?" Chad narrowed his eyes and tightened his fists, "What do you want with my brother?"

"Brother?" Clint narrowed his eyes, "We don't want your brother. We want Peter Parker."

"That's my brother, you idiot!" A fireball was sent towards them, though everyone was easily able to dodge. "Leave Pete out of this! You've hurt him enough as it is!"

"What?"

The group shared looks with each other as Chad rushed forward to attack them.

The power difference was very noticeable... Chad was so much stronger than he had been the month before; he was more coordinated and balanced. Nothing like the hot head they fought at the school. His fire was so powerful, most of the team were forced to stand nearby and just watch as Tony and Rhodey took action.

"Kid, you tried killing Peter last month," Rhodey said between blasts. "What's with all the brother crap now?"

"I would never try to hurt Pete! You're the monsters that nearly destroyed him! You keep tearing my family apart!" His eyes lit up as he glared at them, "First my parents, then my sister, now my brother? When will you just leave us alone!"

"Scatter," Tony said just as a heat wave hit them, everyone taking cover as best as they could.

Scott climbed into Sam's shoulder, crossing his arms as they watched Tony and Rhodey engage with Chad. "You know, it looks like this kid might be slightly under some kind of mind control."

"I'd feel a lot better if Wanda was here..." Scott muttered, narrowing his eyes against the heat.

"Let the girl have some fun on her date." Nat smirked as she walked past them, "Or do you boys not think you can handle this?"

"I-I never said that...!" Scott frowned, his arms uncrossing as he tried to yell his defense to Natasha, but she was already gone. Scott sighed as he watched the fight against Chad.

It was insane to watch the two metal men go up against the fire boy, neither of them giving an inch. Chad seemed to have gotten much stronger than before, because even throwing things at him now did barely anything aside from making his temper rise.

"You know, I'm very happy I decided to make these fire proof." Tony commented as his suit was engulfed in flames. "I'd be very uncomfortable right now otherwise."

"Yeah, Tony, thanks," Rhodey grunted as he took a heated fist to the face plate. "Now shut up and help me fight!"

"First you complain that I'm too quiet in the fight, now you complain that I talk too much. God, just make up your minds already."

"Who said that we complained when you were quiet? How do you know we didn't like it?"

"Please, you all kept looking at me with this terrified look like 'OMG That poor man!'"

Both men zoomed around Chad as they bickered, the teen trying to keep up with them as he shot fire in every direction but ultimately just getting himself dizzy. As he swayed on his feet, Rhodey dropped down in front of him and threw his first punch. Chad's head snapped backwards as he groaned, the fire disappearing around him just as his body fell to the ground.

"This was slightly anticlimactic," Clint frowned.

"Glad we didn't need to make a school collapse on him this time to win..." Steve chuckled as he watched the boy go down. "Now we just need to beat Karl Fiers, find Peter, and get the hell out of here."

"Friday, keep a scan going for any signatures that are like Peter's." Tony commanded as he started walking away.

"Roger, boss."

The team shared looks before following him; Sam taking one last look at the creepy room filled with Peter's pictures before leaving as well. This man was insane, but that kind of obsession doesn't come randomly. He chose Peter for a reason. But what was that reason? And what was his end goal?

He just hoped that Peter would be alright in the end.

 **A/N: not as short as before, but still not as long as I'd like.**

 **Updates are going to be coming in slower now, sorry! I know my end goal for this story, but getting there is going to be slightly difficult... Plus I keep starting new stories when I really shouldn't. I've got five other Spider-Man/Avenger stories I'm working on that keep distracting me. So... yeah. I'll do my best to stay focused though!**

 **Comments are always welcomed~ ;) until next time!**


	7. Chapter 6

"Boss, we may have a problem," Friday announced as they flew down the hall, causing Tony to halt in his tracks.

"What do you mean 'problem'? What kind of problem?"

"My sensors are picking up a signature that is almost identical to that of Peter's down the hall to your right..."

Tony's eyebrows scrunched together as he started walking down the hall the AI indicated. "Where's the problem in that?"

"There are about twenty others just the same."

Tony once again stopped, just in front of the large metal door. "Twenty?"

"Yes, sir."

"Tony, is something wrong?" Steve asked, coming up next to his friend.

The iron man ignored the super soldier and turned to Rhodey, his voice masked with a light tone as he tried to hide his concern. "Hey, Rhodes, what do your scanners say is behind this door?"

The whole team was confused now as they looked between the two. "What are you talking about? It says that Pete-ooooh man... That can't be good."

"I was scared you'd say that." Tony swallowed as he turned back to the door as he finally filled the others in.

"Our scanners say that Peter should be in here, but there are twenty others with the same signature. So either there are clones of Peter in there, which would be bad, or there are a whole lot of enhanced kids, which would be equally bad. Both are very possible given Fiers obsession with Peter and enhanced kids."

"So you're saying we're actually going to have to work on this mission then." Nat chuckled, "Shouldn't be too bad, compared to killer robots and aliens."

"If it is clones, then how do we know which is the real Peter?" Scott asked, looking between his teammates.

Rhodey shook his head, "Cloning hasn't been invented yet."

"Unless it's another enhanced..." All eyes went to Tony as he stared at the door, "Anything is possible with an enhanced person. Twenty years ago, could you imagine teenage kids that could light themselves on fire or stick to pretty much anything? There's no telling what could be behind there."

"Then let's go find out." Steve said with a smile to Tony, walking up to the door and placing his hand on the handle and pulling it open.

The team waited as their eyes adjusted to the lights in the room, waiting for the verdict of who they would be facing.

"Oh my, God..." Steve muttered as he slowly stepped inside the room, everyone following after him.

"That's..."

"Wow."

As the group voiced their shock, Tony pushed his emotions down and started scanning the large, white room. Hundreds of glass cells lined each wall, a red or green light above each one - though most lights were red. The twenty enhanced kids were here, locked up in cells scattered across the room, but none of them were Peter.

"This reminds me of Lilo and Stitch," Scott said as he grew to his normal size. "When the crazy science alien dude was in the alien prison, all the cells in that were just... everywhere."

"Where did he even get the tech to create all this? It's insane..." Clint turned around, noticing the cells that were even on the ceiling.

Natasha, with her eyes narrowed and taking this all in, saw a large control panel against a far wall. She jogged over to it and started scrolling through what information it could give her. She raised an eyebrow as she worked, it could definitely tell her a lot.

Tony walked over to one of the glass prisons that had someone inside of it; a young boy that was curled up in the corner, as far away from the wall as he could. The man's heart broke as he started to put his hand against the glass, but the voice of Friday stopped him.

"I wouldn't advise it, boss. This cell is electrically charge; touch the glass and it should send a shock large enough to shut down the suit."

"Damn... All that just for this kid?"

"I think that kid is the one doing it." Natasha called, gaining the attention of everyone. "That kid, Tyson, has electric powers that he can't control yet. He has a scheduled 'mind cleansing' tonight." She looked up and towards another cell, "The cell five down from him is Caitlin, she was brought in just two weeks ago - the newest one here."

Everyone moved to her cell, but frowned. Scott turned back to look at her, "Uh, I think you might have messed up. This is empty."

"Her power is invisibility."

"Oh."

"Green means there's someone there, red means it's empty." She pointed to the lights above each cell, noting that most of them were red. It should have been a relief, but it only made Nat's stomach churn more. She started typing in the control panel, her eyes narrowed in concentration as she saw her suspicions confirmed. "Don't relax just yet, boys. Even though most of these are empty now, they were filled at one point. All of them are on 'Free Roam' now, meaning there's a lot of enhanced kids that will probably want to kill us walking around."

"That's just great," Clint chuckled, "even kids want us dead now."

Tony turned away from the cells, marching over to Nat and the commands. "What about Peter? Does it say anything about him?"

Nat scanned through all the names before shaking her head. "I'm sorry, no. There's no Peter here at all."

"That's because he's kept separate," A small voice said, catching their attention. Tyson was still curled in a ball, but his blue eyes were gazing at them. "Peter is kept in the center with his own panel, so we know that he's different than us and we don't forget it."

"Different?" Steve stepped closer, "Different how?"

"He's dad's favorite."

The room was silent for a moment, trying to comprehend what was just said. Tyson's dad favorited Peter? Could it be a different person?

"That's what he makes us call him sometimes," A new voice chimed. All eyes went to Caitlin's seemingly empty cell. "Some of us he views as his own children, others he views as weapons. A girl comes every night to talk with us while we sleep, she does something to us and makes us think and remember things differently, telling us if we're children or weapons."

"You're the newest," Sam murmured, "so you aren't wired differently yet."

"I may not remember what my parents look like, but I know it's not him..."

"Do you know the codes to open the cells? We can get you out and bring you home, all of you." Clint placed his hand on the glass, his heart breaking for the poor girl.

"He never lets us see our numbers." Suddenly, she was there, sitting on her bed. She looked about Peter's age with messy red hair, gray eyes, shaking arms... She was scared. "But it's easy to see Peter's, Karl gets so excited that he doesn't even remember to hide the keypad with his body."

"What is it?" Natasha asked, "Which one is he?

Caitlin shook her head and looked down, "His cell sinks into the floor when it's not in use. Karl and Charu came in earlier and took him somewhere. They're planning something with him, he was their end goal..."

Tony frowned, dragging a hand over his face. "Okay... we need a new plan then." He looked up at the girl and tilted his head slightly. "Charu? Who is that?"

"Her full name is Charumathi, she's this Indian girl that always follows Karl around, like a lost puppy. She's been here the longest; the one that comes at night to talk with us."

"The ghost from the tapes..."

"Yeah, she seems like a ghost when you first see her. She can... remove her mind from her body, I guess. This see-through figure is her subconscious that can travel your mind and change anything she wants, but it takes time."

"How much time?"

"I've been here for only two weeks and all I've forgotten is my parents, so a lot." She shrugged and looked down at the tiled floor. "She seems nice when I talk with her, and she tries to comfort us, but she's the one doing this to us in the first place. Why doesn't she let us out if she really cares that much?"

The group looked at each other, Clint stepping forward to answer her. Just as he opened his mouth an explosion went off, rattling the room.

"You shouldn't be in here." A familiar voice said. Tony sighed as he turned to see a very mad Chad in the doorway.

"I'm really starting to get tired of you. Why don't you scurry along and go annoy someone else?"

Chad glared, smoke coming out of his nose with every exhale and a red glow deep in his throat. That was something they hadn't seen before...

"Oh dear."

 **A/N: I really need to finish this story soon... My attention is being drawn to other ideas that are taking up my time. And like I said before: I know my end goal for this story, I just don't know how to get there. Wish me luck! And keep commenting too please, that definitely motivates me!**


	8. Chapter 7

"What the hell happened?" Sam groaned as he slowly stood up from the ground, only to be slammed back against it.

"Stay down!" Chad growled, his heated foot pressing down on Sam's back. The man grunted, his fist clenching as he heard his wing-pack cracking. Thank God he was on the same side as Stark again...

He tried clearing his head to remember what happened, everything coming back in fuzzy pieces. What he did know for sure was that they got their butts kicked... badly.

"Dude, what is your problem?" Sam dared to look up again, seeing Chad across the room. "The first time we met you, you said Spider-Man killed your family, now you're saying that Peter's your brother and we killed everyone else... I thought that this brainwashing thing took a long time, why is your mind so different after a couple of weeks?"

"He said you would try to confuse me with nonsense..." Chad chuckled as he started climbing a latter on the wall. "I just didn't think that you would make up such a terrible lie though."

Sam frowned as he looked around, noticing that what he thought was a room was actually a giant pit. Now that he was alone, he felt it was safe enough to stand without getting a foot in his back. He scanned the area for anything that would help him or indicate where the others were, or where his wings could be... Anything fore mentioned would be great.

"I wouldn't get too comfortable if I were you, Mr. Wilson," A voice chuckled from above him. Looking up, Sam saw Carl Fiers standing on the edge of the pit with an Indian girl standing on his left, Chad standing on the other side of her.

"So you're the sick SOB that's been kidnapping kids..." Sam crossed his arms, ignoring the glare he received from Chad. "Why don't you come down here and let me show you what Americans think of trash like you?"

"You shut your mouth! Father-"

"That's enough, Chad." Karl held his hand up in a halting motion, his smirk growing. "It seems Mr. Wilson has been misinformed. I haven't kidnapped anyone. I simply saved them."

The lone avenger shook his head, his eyes rolling. "Yeah right."

"But it's true...!" A wrinkled arm wrapped around the girl's shoulder, yanking her closer to him. "Poor Charu had her village on the verge of killing her for the 'evil powers' that she was born with. After rescuing her, I realized how many others were out there that needed saving. Some took more convincing than others... but we're all one big happy family here."

Sam studied the girl, watching as her eyes shifted. Charu fidgeted with her hands, tearing off the tips of her nails and avoiding any kind of eye contact - with him and with the two males next to her. She was unhappy and obviously didn't want to be there. Now how to change her allegiances...

"Yeah, and what did you save Peter from? His family? His friends? Oh, I know, his school. They always forced him to take his homework everywhere, that place was real hell... I'm sure he really appreciates that. I mean, who even needs school? It's not like kids really need that kind of stuff for their futures anyway."

"You may mock us," Karl glanced behind him slightly, his smirk growing, "But it's all true. Everyone here is here for their own good. Even Peter, who has been saved from himself, will grow to understand-"

"Saved from himself? What does that even mean?"

Karl let out a long and drawn out sigh, almost as dramatic as Stark would be when asked a seemingly dumb question. "Honestly, how can you be one of Earth's Mightiest Heroes...? I saved Peter from himself by taking him off the streets; who in their right mind would let a teenager try and clean the filth off the streets of New York by himself? That boy is too precious, too special, to do something like that. What if he died? What if he was captured by Hydra stragglers? Now that he's with me, he will never have to worry about something like that again."

Sam's eyes narrowed slightly, his brain trying to comprehend the obsession this man had with Peter. It definitely wasn't anything normal - the control room plastered in Peter's pictures proved that much. But it didn't seem to be anything perverted, either... Until they got Peter back, all Sam could really do was hope for the best.

"Okay, answer this for me then... Before, you sent Sparky here to Peter's school with the command to bully Peter and kill Spider-Man. How does that fit in to your idea of protecting him?"

Chad started to speak, but Karl beat him to it. "It was nothing more than a simple test. I knew Peter was strong, but I did not know exacts. I sent Chad to Peter as a test before setting about for the end game." Karl ignored the strange and confused look he was receiving from Chad, walking leisurely around the pit. "And before you ask, I knew that Peter was going out that night because I'm the one that put that idea into his head. Well... not me specifically, but I gave the order."

"You're acting pretty tough for someone that's hiding up there. Come down here and see if you can still talk big."

"I'm sorry, I would love to humor you, but I'm not as young as I used to be. I'm sure Chad would love to-"

"No." A voice commanded from behind the group. All three turned around, their expressions varying from shocked to excited (and just plain emotionless in Charu's case). "He's mine."

That voice... Sam recognized that voice. Could it be-

Before he could think too much about it, a dark blur jumped down at him. Sam jumped out the way, cringing as he heard the cement crack under the force of the blur's fist. The person stood up slowly, his tight black suit doing nothing to constrict his movements. His head tilted back, dark brown eyes glaring at him from under messy brown hair.

"Peter...?"

As soon as the name left his mouth, Peter was jumping at Sam with his fists swinging. Sam cursed as he did what he could to dodge, his eyes trailing to the cracks littering the ground. The kid was definitely not holding back...

 **A/N: Well this took long enough to get out... I have the best readers though. All the comments and private messages I got over this story were so amazing. Which brings us to today's topic...**

 **Happy Thanksgiving! I am so thankful for everyone that reads, favorites, and comments on my stories. I love you all so much, and I love writing for you! 3 3 3**


	9. Chapter 8

Sam groaned as he tumbled to the ground, not having the time to catch his breath before rolling out of the way of Peter's fist. For someone so young and inexperienced, Peter knew how to cause pain.

Sam had been thrown out of the pit and could barely recover from the shock of it when Peter was on him and tossing him into a wall. The man almost preferred it in the pit, there weren't a lot of weapons Peter could use in there...

Fiers had taken the two other kids with him after getting a buzz on his watch, simply nodding at Peter before leaving through the giant metal doors. Peter became almost savage when they were alone, completely opposite of what Sam was expecting.

"Damn it, kid!" Sam cursed, ducking as Peter ripped a panel off the floor and threw it at him. "I'm really getting tired of this! Why are you attacking me? What the hell happened to you?"

"Shut up..." Peter muttered as his foot slammed into Sam's chest, sending him flying into the wall.

The man grunted as his head hit the metal, "Peter, snap out of it already! What is wrong with you?"

His only response was the boy lifting a large holding tank above his head and throwing it at Sam, who groaned as his body slackened for a second in aggravation before moving out of the way. The glass walls on the tank shattered, large and small flecks of glass racing through the air to Sam's body. Safe to say, he was definitely sending the doctor bill to Peter when this was all over... or Stark. Tony seemed to put himself in charge of the boy after all. And Sam doubted that Peter would be able to pay for a doctor.

"Okay, kid..." Sam rolled his shoulders back, his eyes locked on Peter's. "I think it's about time that we get serious."

"Oh no, I'm so scared." Peter deadpanned, jumping on the wall behind Sam and crawling it down until he was just above the man. Sam moved away, but before he could turn around he was slammed against the floor with Peter's feet on his back and hands on the back of his neck. Damn, this wasn't the kind of position he wanted to be in...

He rolled over, knocking Peter against the floor; the boy hung onto him though as he got up. Sam reached back and grabbed the boy, getting ready to throw him off when a sharp pain erupted in his forearm.

"Oh, hell no! You did not just bite me!"

Peter let out a wicked chuckle, all the answer that Sam needed to adjust his grip and toss him off. Peter flipped in the air and landed in a crouch, his evil smirk and dark eyes shining bright despite his sickly features.

Sam's eyes widened as he took a better look at the boy, noticing the dark bags under his eyes and his dirty hair. His skin was nearly white and with little beads of sweat causing his hair to stick to his face, but it wasn't from fighting... It was the kind of cold sweat you'd get from fighting a fever. Was Peter sick?

He couldn't think about it for long, having to dodge another barrage of attacks from feet and fists. As much as he hated to admit it, there was no way that Sam could beat Peter while the boy wasn't holding back. He really annoyed him to think that Peter was holding back at the airport battle... All Sam could really do was just yell at him and try to jog Peter's memory.

"Ah!" Sam's eyes widened as he was pinned to the ground again, Peter sitting on his chest and holding his throat with one hand. His dark brown eyes were haunted and emotionless as they gazed down at the struggling man. "P-Peter...!"

The boy didn't say anything as he watched Sam squirm under him, his hand slowly tightening.

Damn it, Sam thought. Peter was playing with him... Peter could have killed him at any time, but prolonged the fight just to let him think he stood a chance. Had Peter always been this sadistic, or was this because of the brainwashing?

Sam's vision started to go dark, his mouth opening in an attempt to draw in more air that his lungs were desperately demanding. His arms started flailing and legs bucking, he tried everything to get the boy off of him, everything to get air... But Peter was firmly in place with no thoughts of moving, a dark smirk slinking its way onto his face, taking pleasure in his prey's struggle.

This wasn't good... When the other's saved Peter, the kid would blame himself for not stopping... If Sam knew anything about him, he knew Peter would let the guilt of this eat him alive.

Where the hell were the others?

As if on cue, the giant metal doors to the room busted open. Peter jumped away from Sam, sticking to the ceiling and glaring at the intruders. Sam coughed as he rolled on his side and looked to see who it was, a smirk of his own taking over.

"It's about damn time..." He said as he started pushing himself up, shaking his head at the rugged men in front of him.

"Hey, give me a break. Do you realize how hard it is to fight these kids without a suit? Oh, of course you do." Tony smirked, shoving a hand in his pocket as the other swiped at his nose to hide his chuckle. He had a large cut on his cheek that seemed to just stop bleeding, cuts along his arms, and a few blood patches on his shirt.

Next to him was Steve, also trying to hide the smile on his slightly blue lips by turning his head, water dripping from his hair and clothes. "Alright, let's get Peter-"

A very large piece of metal heading for the two men cut Steve off, both of them jumping out of the way just in time. Three sets of eyes went to the ceiling, narrowing at the evil look they were receiving from Peter.

"Okay, Pete," Tony started, "I think it's time for someone to get an attitude check."

A low growl built in Peter, his muscles flexing as he positioned himself to attack. The rage inside him grew with every passing second until his small body couldn't contain itself anymore and he launched himself at his opponents.

They would die this time.

 **A/N: That moment when you've got two more chapters until the story ends but you suddenly get hit with inspiration for five more chapters. I'm not going to add five more chapters, but I will harvest those ideas into other stories! Like Unravel, and a few more ideas.**

 **I've also got some holiday stories in the works! There's going to be an IronDad/SpiderSon Christmas story, and a new chapter in Spider and Snake for New Years. Now let's just hope I can get them all finished in time...**


	10. Chapter 9

Red.

Everything was red.

It was a never ending sea of the color he was starting to hate. Peter thought it was cool at first, seeing the world in different shades of red, but soon grew very annoyed. He wanted to see the other colors again...

Father said that once he killed every last one of the Avengers, then he would be able to see normally again. Father said that the Avengers cursed him, they wiped his memory and cursed his eyes just because he opposed them. If they were going to weaken him, the least they could do was finish him off.

The other servants came to watch him before, watch as he rolled on the ground in pain after just waking up. They were laughing at his weakness... They were planning an uprising against him and Father. He would stop them, he would kill them.

But first, he had to finish the Avengers...

"Peter!"

His eyes snapped back to the blond male, Captain America. The man had just thrown the piece of metal Peter had chucked at them earlier, his call warning the boy in time to react. Peter caught the metal with ease, holding it in one hand as his eyes narrowed at the bright red man. Why would he alert Peter to his attack? Peter was distracted, it was the perfect time to take over and win.

The hair on his neck stood up, his eyes widening. Peter quickly turned around only to be blinded by the second man that shown so brightly red that Peter almost looked away. It was like staring at the sun with this man... It annoyed him even more.

His lapse of attention cost him his momentary freedom, another piece of metal being wrapped around him.

A feral growl left him as he glared at the tin man in front of him, his helmet receding and showing a concerned face. Peter wasn't exactly sure when his armor returned, but it must have been some time after the woman joined them...

"Peter, it's me, Tony. You need to snap out of it, you're going to hurt yourself...!"

How dare this man try to act worried! He was the reason Peter was like this!

With his snarl filling the air, Peter's arms ripped through the metal like paper. He reached out and grabbed Iron Man's neck, the helmet enclosing around him again. No matter, Peter would just dig him out.

He lifted the man into the air, slamming his hand back down while dropping to his knees, effectively slamming Mr. Stark into the ground. A grin spread across his face when he heard a pained grunt leave the man, the redness dimming slightly.

Perfect.

Peter lifted him again, slamming him right back down. He did it again and again, his grin growing with each crack and crunch of the armor. If only he didn't have the suit on, it would have been so much more satisfying.

"Kid!"

Peter's eyes widened as he looked to the side just as a vibranium shield slammed into him and sent him flying. He grabbed the floor, slowing himself down to a stop as he glared at the duo. It wasn't right, they haven't fought side-by-side since the civil war... but the way they were moving together now made it seem like they were never apart.

"Pete," The helmet pulled back again, Tony's bloody and bruised face pulling at something inside Peter and causing the opposite effect that he wanted. The sight of his enemy injured should have felt better than it did.

So why does he suddenly want to give up?

A high pitch buzzing caught his attention, his head turning to see an arrow flying at him. He leaned to the side to dodge it before jumping away just as an electric shock burst in the spot he was just in. His eyes widened slightly as he saw the sparks, his body tensed slightly as he looked back at the archer. How had he known to move away from that arrow? Had he fought Hawkeye before and didn't remember? Was that one of the things the Avengers erased from his mind?

"Watch out, Barton!" Mr. Stark yelled, "We don't want to hurt him!"

"Well, we're going to have to hurt him a little, or he's going to kill us." The archer called back as he loaded another arrow onto his bow.

Peter watched them with a sense of familiarity, his eyebrows pushing together as he tried to figure out what he was feeling... As he watched the team interact with each other, their redness forming one bright light, something inside of him started pulsing. He swayed slightly on his feet, longing to join them. But why? Why would he want to join the enemy? That was insane! He was losing his mind, they must have their witch with them, hiding in the shadows somewhere. He would stop her, right his mind, and end the redness surrounding him!

But he didn't really hate the redness anymore...

No! That damn witch!

Peter leaped away from the group, latching himself on the wall and beginning to slam his head into the metal panels. He had to get his mind right! He couldn't let the witch alter his mind! He didn't want to be manipulated any longer...!

"Peter!"

"Kid...!"

He ignored their calls, their pleas of him to stop. Why should they care? Where were they when he needed them? Where were they when Karl Fiers kidnapped him? No- He wasn't kidnapped by Father! Father saved him! The Avengers are the enemy!

The metal dented before busting open, the jagged edges scratching his face. He moved to the next panel. No matter what, he would clear his mind.

There was another buzzing noise before the panel exploded, sending him flying backwards and skidding across the ground. For a split second, he saw a flash of red before it disappeared like smoke in the air.

Tony watched in horror as Peter slammed his head against the wall in some kind of self destruct. He started to go to him when Clint fired another arrow that burst that section of the wall into flames and flung Peter across the floor. He would have yelled at Clint, but Peter was more important.

"Peter! Peter, are you okay?" Tony called, rushing towards where the boy landed. His body was motionless against the floor, causing Tony's heart to jump into his throat. The man stopped next to his kid, gently taking him in his arms, "C'mon, kid, talk to me here. Are you okay?"

Brown eyes slowly fluttered open, hazed over with something Tony didn't want to think of. He waited with baited breath for any indication that Peter recognized him, any hint that the innocent child was back...

"I..."

"Peter?"

"If you... water an apple tree with apple juice... is it forced cannibalism?"

Tony blinked, his eyebrows knitting together in confusion. "What...?"

"I've been thinking about this all week. Is it cannibalism, or-"

"Don't you dare finish that thought."

"But, Mr. Stark...!"

"Nope, I will not let you ruin my view of fruit. I know you're smart, and I know where this is going."

Peter grinned at the man, a small chuckle leaving him as he sat up on his own. He glanced around seeing the others surrounding them and feeling guilt swell in him at their bruises and cuts and knowing that he was the cause of it.

"Glad to have you back, kid." Sam said, walking to join the two, Steve and Nat next to him. Clint sent a nod and small smirk, but kept his body in attack mode aimed at the door.

"I'm glad to be back." Peter smiled up at him, but his eyes locked on the dark purple marks on the man's neck. The guilt he was feeling before tripled, scanning the group closer at the more serious wounds he gave them. "I am so sorry, I didn't know what I was doing...! I-"

"Don't sweat it, Pete." Tony said, waving his hand dismissively, his bloody face holding a small smile. "That wasn't you."

"Now let's get out of here before Fiers gets back with the brain-washing kid." Natasha said, starting to move to the door. Peter's eyes widened as he suddenly remembered the other children there.

"No...! We can't leave!" Peter desperately looked at the adults around him, "We can't leave Charu and the others here, they need to go back home! We have to save them!"

"Son," Steve started, his expression pained. Peter knew his response wouldn't be a good one, and who could blame him? One look at the Avengers in the room and anyone could tell that they were almost at their limit. If it was any other time, Peter would have felt proud about actually holding his own against multiple Avengers; but this was not that time.

Before Steve could give his full answer, Scott and Rhodey ran into the room.

"Guys, we can't hold them off anymore...!" Scott yelled, dodging an ice blast.

"Is it bad that I regret sending Bruce back to the jet...?" Clint asked, aiming at the group of enhanced marching in.

Peter pushed himself up, shaking his head. "You can't shoot them...! They don't know what they're doing! They're innocent kids!"

"What is with everyone opposing the idea of our survival?"

A dark chuckle filled the room, the Avengers stiffening as they looked to the door. The enhanced teens and children all parted in unison as Fiers walked in like a king, Charumathi following behind him in his shadow.

"Well, well, well..." Fiers clapped, his twisted smirk growing, "You brought Peter back to his senses. Congratulations."

"Can I at least shoot _him_?" No one chuckled at Clint's dark joke, but they didn't object the idea either.

The mad man's eyes scanned over the 'Earth's Mightiest Heroes' and how wounded they were from just a sixteen-year-old's attacks. They would be easy enough to finish off now, then Peter would finally be all his again. "I'm impressed you were able to jog his memory; unfortunately for you, you won't be here for the next time."

"What makes you think we'll let there be a next time?" Tony asked, his eyes defiant as he stepped in front of Peter.

"Oh, that's simple..." He glanced around the room again before looking back at the army of people behind him. "You'll all be dead."

 **A/N: I've had that scene of Peter asking about the forced cannibalism when he wakes up for so long now, it's not even funny! XD It's kinda late to be uploading, but I'm going into surgery tomorrow morning and have to wake up at 5am, so I will have absolutely no time then.**

 **Remember when I said I had holiday stories planned? Since they're not finished yet, I make no promises that they'll be posted in time. I'm going to be doped up on so many pain meds and sleeping for the next week... I'll to my best to keep writing on them, but don't expect anything.**

 **Happy holidays, ya'll! Consider this an early present~! Your present to me could be a comment or two~? You know I love those XD**


	11. Chapter 10

This was bad... This was really bad. They were losing. The Avengers were losing.

Peter knew that he was strong -he found that out the hard way shortly after he was bitten- but he had no idea he was strong enough to weaken most of the Avengers enough for them to lose to a bunch of enhanced kids! True that said kids were crazy strong... and they were still holding back so as not to hurt the kids, but the battle shouldn't have turned this badly this fast!

Even worse, Peter couldn't really fight either. He was forced to help the team out as much as he could without staying in one place for too long, or Charu's ability would soon slam into his mind and threaten to break him again. For a girl so quiet and timid, she was incredibly strong. Wanda would have definitely helped out with this mission if she were here...

Crawling across the ceiling and watching the fight below, the spider boy did a mental tally of all the Avengers to make sure they weren't in immediate trouble. Natasha was starting to get overwhel- nope. Never mind. The queen pulled through with beauty, grace, and a punch to a soldier's face.

Peter chuckled as he looked around, catching sight of Charu at the entrance with Fiers. Her chocolate eyes were watching him, but he didn't feel anything from her yet. It made him wonder... if she really wanted to make them lose, why didn't she try to control the adults that were fighting? A quick look at Nat and Tony as they both took down multiple enemies said just how big a threat they were. So why not aim for them? Was it because they weren't enhanced? Then Captain America should be under her control, but he was still throwing his shield around. So what was her problem?

His grip started to slip on the ceiling. Charu's silent commands hitting his mind with the force equivalent to a train - so much for his initial thoughts... He shook his head and dove away, pushing off the ceiling and jumping right back into the fight. He took out a few kids for Hawkeye as he ran through the crowd and did what he could to help, though it still wasn't much. Even if he was the one who begged the Avengers to stay and help these kids, Peter was only the backup for everyone thanks to Charu and the fact that they were under her control. He couldn't fight the kids without risking their health...

He could, however, go against the soldiers.

One of the men yelled out in surprise as Peter landed on his head, pushing him down to the ground before jumping onto the ground in front of another man, grabbing the front of his shirt and tossing him over Peter's shoulder into the first man.

He jumped to another group of soldiers -twisting and turning them before they were knocked out- then another group and another, until all that were left standing was the enhanced kids.

"Mr. Stark, how am I supposed to fight them?" Peter asked, perched on the side of the wall and watching the hundred or so kids still coming after them. Everyone was kept on their toes from the different powers each kid had, and Peter soon found his new job of pulling the Avengers out of the way of one kid's ice pillars.

"There comes a time when you're going to have to suck it up and throw a few punches, kid. You're the only one of us that can legally hit them after all." Tony stopped a large boy made of stone from hitting him, grunting slightly under the pressure.

Clint paused as he glanced over, holding another boy in a headlock. "What do you mean he's the only one that can legally hit them?"

"It's kinda child abuse for an adult to hit a child," Sam smirked, watching as Barton let the boy go.

"Are you saying that I - someone that used to work for the government - am doing bad things?"

"Government agents always do bad things," Natasha chuckled, flipping a kid over her shoulder that was trying to attack her from behind.

"But you were a government agent too, weren't you?" Peter's head tilted as he dropped down next to her and stopped someone from hitting her with a vine.

"Exactly."

Nat's predator smirk sent a chill down Peter's spine, he couldn't help but remember the documents that were leaked during the collapse of SHIELD. He wasn't scared of her, but he did fear her power. She was an unstoppable force at her weakest...

"Command the kids to rise again, Charu!"

Peter's head snapped over to Fiers and Charu on the other side of the room, Fiers' angry voice catching him off guard. His eyes widened as he saw the old man back hand the young girl to the ground, his body moving on its own as he raced over just in time to stop a heavy boot from stomping on her.

"Peter!"

There was a tug at his leg as Peter cursed slightly, of course this was another ploy to get him closer. There was no way that he would be able to resist her abilities when she touched him; he could already feel his leg starting to go numb under her touch.

With the last bit of strength he could muster as the dark started closing around him, Peter pulled his fist back and let it fly right into Fiers' face. That felt good...

"Ch-Charu...! Get your hand off him!"

Everyone seemed to freeze at the man's command, not expecting it in the least... Peter glanced down at Charu, her hand slowly moving away from him.

The hair on his neck stood up just in time for him to look up as a cane was slammed into the side of his head.

That did _not_ feel good.

"I will teach you this lesson while you are awake!" Fiers shouted, lifting his cane again and bringing it down on Peter's ribs. "I did all of this for you! Why can't you just realize that your fate is to stay here with me - to obey me? The only reason you're alive now is because I let you live, your life belongs to me!"

Peter's eyebrow twitched as he listened to the short rant, an anger surging inside him that was much stronger than anything he had felt before. The anger blocked out his pain, numbness, and thoughts - that probably wasn't good...

His hand shot up, grabbing the cane before it could hit him once again. He squeezed lightly, but the metal caved under his grip like plastic. Slowly, he stood up and pushed the cane back, causing Fiers to stumble with it.

"I belong to you? I don't remember asking you to spare me, so why should I blindly obey your commands as if you're God or something?" Peter's glare was as hard as his grip on the cane, his body moving on its own as he used it to pin the older man against the wall. "You think you can control and force people to your will in some twisted version of Play House? You don't even use yourself to force people, you make a young girl do it for you. You hide behind children that you've torn from their families and erased any sliver of humanity they had left, brainwashing them into believing whatever you tell them to. You've erased Chad so many times, he can't even fight properly."

On cue, everyone turned to search for Chad among the enhanced, seeing him at the back of the crowd shying away from everyone with a strange look on his face. It was a complete 180 from what they had seen from him all the times before, and Sam remembered that the boy's story had changed various times from wanting to kill Spider-Man then thinking of Peter as family. It made him curious as to what the story was now...

Peter continued though, his harsh words unrelenting even as Karl Fiers' face started to turn red. "What have you told these kids about their families? What did you make them believe their families did to them? Did you make the children kill their family, or did you do it? You've been doing this for so long it's a wonder that the police haven't caught onto you yet, so you must have done something."

"I... I saved them-"

"Shut up!" Peter's fist slammed into the wall next to Fiers' head, cracks forming under the sudden pressure. Tony had taken a step forward, his eyebrows pushed together in worry. He - nor any of the others - had seen the boy so upset before. He wasn't one to get worked up this much, normally choosing to just remain silent when he was seriously angry...

Tony worried about what Fiers had done to his kid to make him yell.

"You saved no one!" Peter's voice cracked, his eyes closing shut as the tears built up in them. "You've done nothing but destroy our lives! You killed our parents and controlled our emotions and minds! And you did it all because of me! You've ruined perfectly good kids because you became obsessed with me and my parents! You say that I owe you for letting me live, but right now you're the one that should be begging me for your life..."

Karl's face was starting to turn blue, his mouth opening and closing as he desperately tried to breath passed the metal stick being pressed into his throat. Peter was unrelenting though, his eyes set in a dangerous glare. If he didn't stop soon, Fiers would die.

"Peter-" Tony started to step forward again, his hand rising to try and pull the boy back. Before he could though, Peter's body dropped to the ground.

The group of Avengers paused for a second, processing what had just happened, before shooting forward to grab their boy away from Charumathi's touch.

"G-good work, Ch-Charu..." Fiers panted and coughed, struggling to keep himself standing as Charu stood up.

As Peter was away from her, he was able to move again, and seemed to be back in his right mindset as he stared at the two with wide eyes. Tony stepped in front of him, hoping to offer the boy some protection - from their enemies and the boy's own mind.

"What's... what's going on?" A small voice asked, drawing their attention to the group of enhanced kids that were looking around in confusion.

"Where am I?"

"Mom...! I want my mom!"

"What happened?"

Fiers wheeled around to Charu, his body livid with anger. "What are you doing, you useless girl? You released them!"

"It's alright now, father..." Charu's faint voice said, and the sound of it sent a wave of peace out through the room. "We can end it all now, your mission is complete."

"N-No... Don't you dare...!" Karl took a step back from her, his eyes wide as his back hit the wall once again. The girl stepped forward and wrapped her arms around him in a hug, his eyes hazing over almost immediately as his body slumped over.

Everyone watched in astonishment as the young girl guided the man to rest on the ground before she turned back to them with a deep bow. "I am very sorry for what my father and I have done to you all. I have released my control over everyone and will now take my father back to the mountains of his home where he will not hurt anyone again."

She lifted her hand and Karl rose like a puppet on strings, his eyes still hazed and with no emotions on his face.

"Wait, Charu...!" Peter called, started to stand. "You're going to leave with him? He's a criminal! He used you!"

Charu's gazed went to Peter, her eyes soft as a faint smile tugged at her lips. "If father does not return home soon, more men will be sent here to find him and cause trouble for everyone involved." Her gaze shifted to Fiers, "And he may have used me, but I am the one that swore myself to him. He was cruel, but he had saved me from my village. I owe him everything."

They turned to leave again, and no one stopped them this time.

The team had made front page news for the next month when they brought in all the kidnapped children to police stations around the state. They had apparently rescued kids that had been going missing for the last four years, Chad being the first one having gone missing.

As it turned out, without the mind control influencing him, Chad's real name was Steven and had been kidnapped when he was a skinny nerd. After he had gotten a good look at himself in the mirror, he had freaked out and started muttering under his breath. Peter almost laughed.

The only reason he hadn't was because his mind was still stuck on his confrontation with Fiers. He had been willing to strangle the life out of the man that killed his parents... While many would view it as justified karma, Peter couldn't help but hate himself for it. He didn't want to kill people, even Fiers, but his rage had gotten the better of him. It was terrifying to know that he had a side like that hiding deep within him.

"Peter," Mr. Stark called, catching the boy's attention and pulling him out of his thoughts. The man sat next to the boy, two mugs of warm liquid in each hand and handed one to him. "Not as good as Nat makes it, but I think it's okay."

Peter took the mug gingerly, looking down at the brown substance and taking in the sweet smell of it. A small smile made it's way onto his face as he drank the hot chocolate, "Thanks."

"Listen, kid..." Tony started, staring at his own drink, "Don't beat yourself up over what happened today. You couldn't control yourself most of the time... and sometimes our emotions just get the best of us." He took a swallow of his drink before continuing, "Besides, it's in the past, where it needs to be. You're safe and going home, and that's all that matters now."

Drinking most of his hot chocolate already, Peter let the warmth of it coat his insides, letting his body relax slightly. "Thanks, Mr. Stark..."

The two sat there in silence for a while before Tony suddenly patted his shoulder with a grin, "How do you feel about camping?"

 **A/N: Wooo! Finished! Just in time, too; my college classes start tomorrow! If I hadn't finished this tonight, who knows when I would... The reason it took so long is because I'm actually still in recovering from my surgery, and just hadn't had any motivation to write for it. Plus the holidays and all...**

 **I hope this was okay for a final chapter... I kinda rushed it because of the timing and all, but I think it may be manageable? I may edited it over the summer if I come back with a better mindset and see how horrible it probably really is XD**

 **Thank you to everyone who stuck it out through this story! I know it took a hard turn away from what the original story started out as... And a huge thank you to everyone who reviewed, and those who favorited and followed!**

 **Shout out to Invader Johnny for commenting on every chapter, from the first book and all the way here! Reading your comments and analysis of each chapter is where I got most of my motivation to keep writing.**

 **See you all in my next story~!**


	12. END CREDIT SCENE

"Why did I agree to this?"

Peter laughed lightly as Sam sat on a log in front of their fire, trying to offer some comfort to the man by pulling his stick out of the fire and offered the warm and gooey marshmallow at the end to him. Sam glanced at it before begrudgingly putting two pieces of graham cracker on it and claiming it as his.

In reality, it wasn't so bad out there as Sam had first thought it would be, it was just... he was the only one who didn't bring a chair with him. So while everyone else was happy and comfortable around the fire, he was stuck on a hard log.

"Cheer up, Wilson," Tony chuckled, "we're here on a special occasion after all."

Peter blushed slightly and ducked his head low as everyone turned to him with a smile.

Tony and a few others had managed to convince the team to go on the camping tripping they were planning before the incident with Fiers happened, somehow turning it into a belated birthday party for Peter - since he was in captivity during the actual day. And while instructed by the boy not to, of course everyone brought presents for him...

Peter was still trying to recover from everything that had happened to him, from being kidnapped to his final fight with Fiers, and this trip was just what he needed to clear his mind. The others were needing the trip too, apparently; they had all been on high alert for so long because of him... He felt bad about it, knowing that he was the cause for their tension.

If only they knew what he was thinking, all of the Avengers would have made sure that he never felt like that again. They were worried about him, the way he would space out or just retreat to his room for days would worry any parental figure. But none of them blamed the kid, he had been through a traumatic experience not long ago and needed time to recover.

"Peter," Natasha called from across the campfire. The seriousness in her voice caught everyone's attention, making them all slightly nervous for what she had to say.

"Yes?"

Her green eyes seemed to glow in the light, staring at him and seeming to analyse him. When she finally spoke, it was softer and had a hint of caring hidden deep withing the tone. "What did Fiers tell you about your parents?"

Peter's eyes widened for a second before looking down into the dirt below. He swallowed thickly before answering, "The truth... I guess? That they were CIA agents that he killed."

The camp fell into a hush as the group wondered what Natasha had planned for this topic, though Clint suspected that he knew.

Nat was quiet for a while again before she responded, pulling her marshmallow from the fire. "You're like them, you know? Your looks and fighting style."

Peter glanced up at her, an uncertain emotion shining in his eyes as he watched her eat the sweet treat. "Really?"

"Yeah," Clint answered with a smirk, "I can't believe I didn't see the resemblance before. You are so like them, it's almost funny how you copied your dad's rambling technique without knowing."

"You knew my parents?" Peter glanced between the two of them, his eyes wide with the new information.

Nat and Clint shared a look before starting to recall stories they knew or had heard about the Parker team and how they were greatly admired. No one commented on the water that started to gather in Peter's eyes or the way that Natasha laughed now and then as she remembered or how Clint's signature sarcasm was cut back to the bare minimum...

No one mentioned anything mostly because they themselves were struggling with their emotions at the moment. Seeing Peter so happy about his parents was enough to move anyone, and the Earth's Defenders were no exception. It had been so long since he was happy, and they just wanted their little spiderling to be back to his normal self again.

"Thank you," Peter said softly, trying to be discrete as he used his sleeve to wipe his eyes. "Thank you for telling me all this."

"Of course, kid," Clint smiled as he waved it off, closing up his back of marshmallows. "No need to thank us for just telling stories of your parents. It's something every kid should know."

"Yeah, but still," Peter looked down with a smile, "Thank you."

Tony reached over to ruffle the boy's hair, the action small but more than enough to comfort Peter. "Happy late birthday, kid."

 **A/N: Happy birthday! It was my birthday yesterday, so I thought that I'd share the attention with all of you! Plus, it just wouldn't be a proper story if I didn't add an End Credit Scene XD**

 **I hope you enjoyed this small and kind of emotional chapter! I've got a few other ideas for future stories, but don't know when I can post them as college is murdering me... I can't wait until the summer.**


End file.
